Instituto Federal de Telecomunicaciones

IFT Plenary agrees the scheme that will be adopted for the 2.5 GHz band for mobile telecommunications services

• It will be the segmentation scheme C1, as recommended by ITU
• This part of the spectrum will be used for wireless access services broadband

As part of the elements that the Federal Telecommunications Institute (Instituto Federal de Telecomunicaciones, IFT) included in the National Plan for Radio Spectrum and its Work Program to ensure optimal use of the 2.5 GHz band under the principles of universal access, non-discriminatory, continuous and shared, it was established that the Plenary of IFT will issue the Agreement whereby the segmentation of the 2.5 GHz band (2.500 to 2.690 MHz) is adopted as part of its actions to tender in 2016.

At this, the IFT launched a public consultation from April 7 to May 5, 2015, on the proposed adoption of segmentation scheme of the band, which was identified by the International Telecommunication Union (ITU) as conducive to the International Mobile Telecommunications (IMT). In this exercise, the bulk of the participants showed clear preference for C1 segmentation scheme.

In this sense, taking into account the recommendations of the ITU and the Inter-American Telecommunications Commission (Comisión Interamericana de Telecomunicaciones, CITEL), and the comments obtained in this public consultation, at the session held on July the 3^rd, the IFT Plenary agreed to adopt the C1 segmentation scheme for the  2500-2690 MHz frequency band.

C1 arrangement according to the ITU-R M.1036 of ITU recommendation

This scheme has a sufficiently broad set of contiguous blocks of spectrum that allows the deployment of broadband technologies using duplexing FDD methods (frequency division duplexing) or TDD (duplexing by time division).

Among the advantages of this segmentation of the 2.5 GHz band stresses that because it is the mostly adopted internationally, economies of scale that result in reduced costs for manufacturers are achieved and, therefore, it is possible to offer products and services at lower prices to end users.

On the other hand, the Plenary approved to submit for public consultation the draft “Agreement whereby the Technical Arrangement IFT-008-2015 is issued: Telecommunications-Radiocommunications-Radiocommunications Systems employing the technique of spread- radio equipment spectrum for frequency jump and digital modulation to proceed in the bands: 902-928 MHz, 2400-2483.5 MHz and 5725-5850 MHz Specifications, limits and testing method” for a period of 20 working days (from July 7^th to 17^th  and from August 3^rd to 17^th of 2015), to promote transparency and public participation in the process of issuing general provisions by the Institute.

Currently and until October 19^th of 2015 it will be valid the NOM-121-SCT1-2009 for teams and spread spectrum devices, which operate in free spectrum, i.e. the open access frequency bands, which can be used by the general public, under the guidelines or specifications established by the Institute, without concession or authorization.

That is why in order to ensure the use of this free spectrum as possible users, it is essential that the Institute establish the technical specifications that make this possible. Furthermore, if these spread spectrum computers and devices are not adequately regulated, they can cause harmful interference in different parts of the radio spectrum, including segments that must be protected.

So is solely for the IFT, as an autonomous constitutional body, to issue a general provision that establishes compliance: a) the minimum specifications and limits for radio equipment for spread spectrum (frequency hopping, digital modulation and hybrid) in the bands frequencies 902-928 MHz, 2400-2483.5 MHz and 5725-5850 MHz and b) test methods for verifying compliance with the specifications and restrictions stated.